PPG Industries exceeds profit expectations, forecasts strong FY earnings

PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings of USD264 mln, said the company.

The Pittsburgh-based company said it had net income of USD1.11 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were USD1.82 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of USD1.55 per share.

The paint and coatings maker posted revenue of USD4.38 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected USD4.49 billion.

For the current quarter ending in June, PPG Industries expects its per-share earnings to range from USD2.05 to USD2.15. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of USD1.33.

The company expects full-year earnings in the range of USD6.95 to USD7.25 per share.

We remind, PPG will invest USD11 million to double the production capacity of its powder coatings plant in San Juan del Rio, Mexico. The expansion project is expected to be completed by mid-2023 and will allow the plant to meet the expected future demand for powder coatings in Mexico.

PPG is a leading supplier of powder coatings to the automotive, transportation, appliance, furniture and other markets. The company expanded the business with its 2020 acquisition of Alpha Coating Technologies, which manufactures powder coatings for light industrial applications and heat-sensitive substrates, and its 2021 acquisition of Worwag, which makes liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. PPG recently agreed to acquire the powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, including a manufacturing plant in Verbania, Italy.

mrchub.com

AEG, a leading resource for CPG Packaging, announced the launch of EZ-Lock X ORG, an innovative packaging solution developed in partnership with Ocean Recovery Group (ORG), and certified “plastic negative” by rePurpose Global, said Worldbiomarketinsights.

EZ-Lock X ORG was created to meet growing industry demand for scalable, customizable, and domestically assembled cannabis packaging with a measurable environmental impact.

AEG has heavily invested in ORG –its recycling facility in the Dominican Republic– to establish a robust, closed-loop infrastructure to combat plastic pollution at scale. Ocean-bound plastic (OBP) is gathered at the ORG’s collection and processing site in the Dominican Republic, where the facility sorts, washes and produces flake. The flake is used in the injection molding process to form AE Global’s EZ Lock x ORG child-resistant cannabis packaging.

“At AE Global, we have proven that we are the industry leader in sustainable packaging. Our closed-loop OBP recovery program captures and converts at-risk materials before it can harm the environment. It helps our customers achieve their sustainability goals through eco-friendly packaging options and plastic recovery,” said AEG’s Managing Partner, Mike Forenza.

With every purchase of an EZ-Lock x ORG tray, nearly 35 grams of plastic are recovered, which roughly equates to twice the amount of plastic used to generate each tray, certifying it Plastic Negative by rePurpose Global. AEG maintains a robust reporting system allowing customers to track, report and communicate their impact through their sales and marketing channels. AEG has funded the recovery of 80,000 pounds of ocean-bound plastic through this initiative, while ORG has recovered 2,148 tons.

We remind, more than 120 European packaging industry associations issued a joint letter urging co-legislators to preserve the internal market legal basis of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in its entirety, as the best way to achieve the environmental and economic objectives of the proposal. The internal market legal basis addresses the differences among the various national rules on the management of packaging and packaging waste and resulting internal market barriers, while providing a high level of environmental protection.

mrchub.com

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global sustainable chemical company, is continuing to assess plans to build and operate a world-class lithium-ion battery solvents plant at one of its petrochemical facilities in the U.S. Gulf Coast, including sourcing new license partners to speed up the development of the technology, said the company.

Indorama Ventures' Integrated Oxides & Derivatives (IOD) business segment is exploring licensing opportunities with a range of technology partners, after withdrawing from an initial non-binding agreement with Capchem Technology USA Inc.

Entering the lithium-ion battery market will reinforce the company's downstream specialty products portfolio, serving attractive end-market applications. Indorama Ventures is leveraging its global integrated petrochemicals model by investing in adjacent businesses that offer High Value Add (HVA) products that contribute to a more sustainable world.

Alastair Port, Executive President, Integrated Oxides and Derivatives (IOD), IVL, said, "The EV market is a significant opportunity for Indorama Ventures to leverage our world-class petrochemical assets in the U.S. Gulf Coast, which are ready to host a new world-class lithium-ion battery solvents plant. From our base near Houston, our Integrated Oxides & Derivatives business has a successful track record of working with technology license partners to benefit the high-growth North American market."

We remind, Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) are collaborating to use flake from recycled PET trays to produce PET film suitable for food packaging trays, said the company. The partnership is an important step in diverting PET trays from landfill or incineration to support the EU’s recycling targets and create a circular economy for PET trays.

mrchub.com

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is India’s second-largest government-owned downstream oil producer after ONGC, said Equitypandit.

The company plans to set up 240-MW of renewable power capacity at Rs 600 crore this fiscal year. Sukhmal Jain, the Marketing Director of BPCL, said that the firm would soon build up solar and wind power facilities. “We have ideas to set up 240-MW of solar and wind energy farms in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra at a projected cost of Rs 600 crore.”

Solar projects of around 50 MW are already under construction at BPCL’s facilities. The company is aiming for a captive necessity for its refineries first, which is about 350 MW. According to company reports, Bharat Petroleum is exploring organic and inorganic opportunities and forecasting to bid for industry estimates moving forward.
The company commenced many solar projects of smaller size to increase understanding and is confident to take up bigger projects, participating in renewable energy tenders in the future.

Recently, it has signed an agreement with the Rajasthan Government under which BPCL will inaugurate renewable projects costing 1 GW of capacity in the state. It also has signed an MoU with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to set up 10 GW of renewable energy capacity system by 2040.

We remind, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) plans to invest rupee (Rs) 430bn-500bn (USD5.2bn-6.1bn) to expand its Bina refinery and build a petrochemical complex at the site in the central Madhya Pradesh state. BPCL has received necessary approvals from the Madhya Pradesh state government for the project, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on 14 April.

mrchub.com

Indian state-owned oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd said it had received approval from the Madhya Pradesh state government for expanding its Bina refinery and setting up a petrochemical project, said Reuters.

Bharat Petroleum will invest 430 billion rupees (USD5.27 billion) to 500 billion rupees for the two projects, adding that the petrochemical project would start production by fiscal year 2027-28.

We remind, Bharat Petroleum Corp said it had signed a preliminary agreement with Brazil's national oil company Petrobras to help it diversify its crude oil sourcing. Indian state refiners rarely buy Brazilian oil.

mrchub.com